The house of cards and raven colored tea cups
by AmberAutopsy
Summary: Aliss has always been full of imagination, so much so that she would repeatedly get on her mothers nerves, so, one day, she decides to runaway. As she finally gets her wish and passes through the mirror in her family room, she quickly realizes it s nothing like she thought as she unknowingly takes on a whole new life...
1. Chapter 1

There once was a small girl, who sat in front of her mirror all day, pressing her small fingers against the glass, wanting to talk to the girl who lived in the odd place there.

She would often get in trouble for smudging the mirror or climbing on top of the mantle and knocking her mothers beautiful things down...

Alice cringed as one of her mothers favorite golden clocks fell to the ground with a loud clatter. She froze on top of the marble mantle, listening to her mothers angry foot steps, her heels pounding against the thickly carpeted floors. Aliss held her breath as her mother burst into the room, her beautiful gowns flaring out around her, like pale cream colored water, her face turning from worry to sadness to anger within a span of seconds.

"ALICE LIDDLE!" her mother yelled, storming into the room and tearing her from the mantle, causing her to fall to the floor quiet hard. Hearing the noise her father appeared in the door, seemingly out of breath from his run from his office.

"What is the matter!" He asked, looking around. Her mother yanked Alice from the ground, where she was sat rubbing her now sore butt, and shoving her at her father.

"Hi daddy..." She said softly, looking down at her small feet, ashamed.

"She was atop that damned mantle again!" Her mother said, leaning over to gather up the remains of that golden clock. "And this time she broke my favorite clock!" Her father looked at his wife with a slightly confused expression for a moment, then seeing how upset she was at what he had considered an ugly old thing he sent his only child up to her room.

Alice stormed around her room, her arms crossed across her chest.

"It was unfair for mother to yell at me like that." She ranted to her stuffed walrus. "If she didnt want this to happen she shouldnt have told me of the looking glass world in the first place!" She picked up one of the cherry tarts the maid always slipped to her for a snack when she was sent to her room, and went and sat on the window seat, watching the flowers in her mothers garden sway in the wind.

"They`d miss me if i was gone..." She mumbled around her full mouth.

Gone...

Brilliant!

Standing up she dropped her tart to the ground and ran from her room, creeping softly down the hall as if she were a mouse. She found herself once again in the family room, staring up at that large mirror above the mantle.

"Of course..." Alice said softly to her self. "If it does`nt work, I`ll just get in trouble. Yet again." She narrowed her eyes. "But I don`t care!" Stepping up onto one of the dark red cloth chairs, she climbed on top of the mantle. For a long while she just stared at her reflection, as it stared back. Then, finally getting up enough courage she raised her hand and touched her fingers to the glass. Sheer disappointment flooded through her.

Her fingers were still stuck on this side with her.

Sighing, she turned and prepared to climb back down, when her feet slipped and kicked one of the niknaks. The pounding foot steps began almost as soon as the piercing shatter ended. Alice backed up against the mirror and shut her eyes tight, waiting for her beating. But then suddenly...

...she fell.

Right through the mirror.

She finally opened her eyes, seeing the mirror high above her, getting higher and higher as she fell farther and farther.

Until everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

I stared down at the glossy glass chess table and bit my lip, looking over the red and white playing pieces. Narrowing my eyes as I shifted my gaze up and met the dancing eyes of the Prince, glowing because he knew he`d won.

"Will you lay your King down or shall I do it for you." He asked, cockily. I slit my eye even thinner, hiding my smile.

"You are far to confident, sir." I said and sighed playfully, reaching out and knocking my king over. The prince smiled wide and stood up, bowing as if in front of an applauding crowd.

But, alas, there was only me.

"Well!" He said, stretching his arms high above his head. "Shall we play another round, then?" At that I had to laugh.

"But Prince," I said as I cleared the chess pieces off the board and into a small red velvet bag. "We`ve been playing sense dawn...and if I`m not mistaken...that purplish red mass of vomit behind you is the sunset." He looked behind him, as if he didn`t believe me.

"Alright..." He said, looking a bit sad, but then suddenly his head snapped towards me, his eyes sparkling once again. "Then lets go to the lake of lost souls!" And before I could object he was off, running down the grassy hill and into the wood of shadows. Scooping up my top hat, I took off after him.

XXXXXXXXXXX

I was out of breath when I reached him, already standing at the at the bay, his toes nearly touching the waters surface. He turned and smiled when he saw what a mess I was.

"You know...for the guard to a_ royal _child, You are not very good at running." His voice was teasing, I was too busy bent over staring at the ground, my hands braced on my knees, trying to catch my breath to see his expression.

"That talent could very well save your life one day, Prince." I said when I`d finally caught my breath and stood up. "And my _LACK_ there of will probably kill me."

"Yes, God forbid I`m ever kidnapped and you have to run after the napper." At this he burst out laughing. I just stood there, straight faced, not finding any humor in him being kidnapped.

Which was entirely possible.

Soon he realized I wasn`t laughing and slowly his once loud gawfs silenced, replaced with a look of concern. "What?" He watched as I took off the heavy armor and chain metal before I answered.

"I just dont see the humor in you being killed, Prince." I said, loving the feeling of the wind blowing up my tunic, cooling my clamy skin.

"And how many times have I asked you to call me Dace." He said, totally ignoring my statement. I sighed loudly.

"And how many times have I told you that I can not." I replied. "You ARE a Prince...and I`m just...somebody who was picked to protect and die for you if necessary ."

I could almost feel his eyes soften as they settled on me, his words soft, and slightly sad as he continued.

"Your my best friend..." His voice sounded so wounded that I bowed my head, squeezing my eyes shut. Suddenly, I felt his warm arms encircle me, holding me tightly. "Will You be my queen, Miss kingsley ?"

I smiled at his words, remembering the game we played as children. He was The King and I was his Queen and we ruled happily ever after. "Of course my King." Knowing it all to be a joke.

He pulled away a little and looked at me, his sapphire eyes dark pools of blue. "Will you dance with me, Aliss?" as if on que, the small flowers at our feet started humming an old wonderlanian tune, their sweet, tiny voices floating on the breeze, making it seems as if i were dreaming. I laid my head on his shoulder as he took my hands in his, his soft fingers gently tracing scars as he gently swayed us back and forth. I closed my eyes, and let my mind wonder as I floated away...

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

As I sat along side of Dace by the lake of lost souls I felt my mind leaving my body, floating away and disappearing into the past, back to when we were small and sitting in that very spot, Dace`s tiny saber toothed cat, Chesher, laying at our feet, muttering softly in his sleep.

"Twas brillig, And the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe..." I whispered, reading from his old wonderlanian book of poems. The prince took it gently from my hands and started the next paragraph.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son. The jaws that bite. the claws that catch. Beware the Jujub bird, and the frumious Bandersnatch..." His voice trailed off in thought as he set the tattered book down in his lap. "Aliss..." He said softly, watching the cool water jitter slightly in the wind that whistled quietly through the tall trees. "Do you think the jabberwocky and bandersnatch are real?" His eyes swong over to me, a bit anxious. I shrugged my small shoulders.

"I honestly don`t know, my Prince..." I replied, I smiled to ease his worry. "But even if there is, they are out in the wonderland...and we are safe in Hearts..." He smiled a little and looked down at Chesher.

"Besides, if the ever did get in...we`d always have the fierce little Chesher cat to protect us..." He added, and we burst out laughing. At the mention of his name Chesher had stumbled awake and was now trying to roll over onto his plump little belly.

"Say what?" Chesher said, blinking, still half asleep. Laughing harder, we picked him up and snuggled him between us, cuddling him as tight as he`d let us.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What are you day dreaming about?" Dace asked, leaning up on an elbow to look down at me. I opened my eyes and stared up at the starry sky, holding onto the warm feeling that memory always gave me.

"Chesh..." I said, Dace lowered his eyes. "And that old poem we were so obsessed with...do you remember that?" I looked over at him, seeing only his shining blonde hair as he stared at the grass under him.

"Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe..." He said, His voice soft and far away, as im sure mine was too.

"All mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe." I finished. Beside me, the Prince shifted up into a sitting position.

"I miss him, Aliss..." He said, and i sat up too, taking one of his hands into mine.

"I know..." I whispered, looking down at my crossed legs. "I do too..." I could feel the flowers eyes on us as we sat there, lost in our memories and saddness, their sniffles quiet and, even though filled with saddness, still sounded just as sweet as their singing.

"Hogthorne." Nicholas said, jumping to his feet, I turned and saw his pig faced 'Nanny' standing at the edge of the forest of shadows, her small beady eyes fixed angrily on me.

She was originally from Diamond, and was dead set on Prince Nicholas marring Princess Izabele, the Princess of the Diamond. She knew I hated that fat little brat, and thought I was spreading my ugly thoughts of her to Dace, when in reality, all the nasty thoughts he had of her were purely his own. She also saw the way he looked at me, and came to the conclusion I was a threat to their marriage.

which I was not.

The King and Queen of Hearts where like my own parents...

...I could never disappoint them.

"We`d best go..." I said, getting to my feet and gathering my armor from the now dewy ground. Nodding reluctantly, Dace grabbed my hand and we started forward. I pulled it away quickly, hearing Hogthorne let out a loud snort and disappeared back into the forest of shadows. Ducking my head in shame and sadness, I followed behind the Prince, knowing this would not turn out well...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning I woke up to banging on my door, stumbling up I walked over and opened it to find a castle guard standing in the hall.

"The King and Queen have requested you to come to their chambers immeditly." He said, His loud booming voice echoing against the crystal walls loudly. Silently, I nodded and shut the door, standing for a moment in shock and worry before running over to my waredrobe and pulling on my red and white Knights uniform, hurrying down stairs, my hat tucked firmly under my arm.

Before I could even knock on the doors to their chambers were swung open by the doormen. As I walked up to the Kings desk I saw the Queen standing in the corner by the old maps of hearts, looking deeply troubled. Swallowing hard I continued forward, coming to a stop in front of the Kings grand dark red desk.

"Aliss..." He began, looking over at the Queen, who was completely ignoring him, her petite jaw set firmly. " It has come to the attention of the King and Queen of Diamond that...you and Dace are...very close..." He trailed off.

"But, your Majesty...You know that I am the Prince`s best friend..." He nodded slowly at my words and looked sadly down at his desk. "...I`m his _Only_ friend..."

"I`ve told them this...but they do not feel comfortable with it..."

"Polycockers." I heard the queen mutter, I looked back at her, slightly amazed.

She never said stuff like that.

"They`ve asked that you be...sent away, or the marriage will not go on..." The King continued, ignoring his wifes outburst.

`Sent away?` I thought, My heart sinking and my eyes burning from the tears I refused to shed. Wordlessly, I nodded my now heavy head, and stared down at my feet as the King spoke.

"I, uhh...have arranged for you to go live with my wife`s sister, The Queen of Clubs, and serve as knight to her son, Prince Jakob...He is considerably older then both you and Dace and is to marry the Princess of Spades a few days after your arrival so..." He paused to rub the bridge of his nose, squeezing his surprsingly blood shot eyes shut. "So you will be expected to take extra careful care of him...but, i already know you wil-" Here I cut him off.

"I thank your Majesty for not tossing me out on the street." I said in a small, toneless voice, turning on a hell towards the door. "I shall pack my things immeditly."

And with that I left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

For awhile I stood outside my door, my hand frozen above the knob, my eyes closed tight. I knew who was inside...and I wished I didnt have to go in...but i knew I had to...

I opened the door slightly and poked my head inside, but nobody was there. I shoved the door open, making it slam into the wall behind it, and looked around, a scowl on my face. I could have sworn he was here...his scent was so deep. Movement behind me made me whirl around, catching a flash of Red just before it disappeared from the door way. I ran out into the hallway and skidded to a stop, my eyes catching the Prince running down the long corridor, his messy blonde hair covering his face as he turned his head to look back. I reached my hand out uselessly as he turned the corner.

"Dace..." My voice was broken and sounded a million miles away. "I`m sorry..."

I sighed as I made my way downstairs, my head hung as I watched my feet fall to the ground over and over again, the tiny sparkles embedded into the floor parting under my shoes, my heart uniform clenched tightly to my chest. I made my way slowly, trying to extend the little amount of time I had left there.

The only home I`d ever known.

"Aliss..." The Queens familiar voice said from somewhere behind me. I turned slowly and saw her standing in front of one of the many pillars, her white dress blending into the carved white marble almost perfectly, so perfectly that i hadn`t even seen her standing there.

For a second I was tempted to just keep going.

Just leave...

...like they wanted me to do so bad.

But I started toward her, stopping a good four feet away, not looking her in the face.

"I...I really am sorry..." She said, her voice just a mere whisper. I nodded.

"I know."

"I honestly don`t want you to leave..." She continued, sounding hurt by my short replys.

"I know." I turned my head, looking blankly at the wall beside me.

"ALISS!" I was taken by surprise when she grabbed my shoulders and pulled me close. I looked up at her face and saw tears rolling down from her big, brown eyes, glittering like the crystal walls of the castle did in the bright sunshine. "Listen to me! Please!" She took a deep breath and loosed her grip on me. "This...just KILLS me, Aliss. My parents raised me to be the person who holds onto what she love with everything she has, to hold onto family. And you ARE my family, Aliss! The daughter I could never have!"

As she spoke my look of confusion slowly turned into that of realization, and then into sadness. I dropped my eyes to the floor, trying to hide my emotions, knowing it would just make the Queen sadder. We were both silent for a long while, as if we were both afraid to speak. I let her put her small hand under my chin and lift up my heavy head.

"You have no idea how I wish you to be Dace`s bride..." She shook her head and smiled the tiniest bit. "You make him so...happy."

"He hates me now..." I said simply, my tears threatening to erupt again. She looked down and me with stern, serious eyes.

"No he doesnt, Darling." Her eyes soften and turned me slowly to look out at the Lovely Garden, where Nicholas stood, staring down at one of the newly bedded flowers, his hands in his pockets. "You know the pain of losing your best friend...first he lost Chesher...now you..."

I could have sworn I felt my heart break, pop and crack like shattering glass as those pitiful tears finally streamed down my clammy cheeks. I hurriedly wiped them away. I turned and held out my uniform.

"No, you should-"

"Please." I inturuppted. "It would only cause me pain to see it..." Nodding, she took it from my hands, pulling a small, heart shaped locket out of the pocket of her gown.

"But please accept this..." Without waiting for an agreement she placed it into my hand, closing it into a tight fist around the locket.

I felt as if i were drowning...as if I were falling down a long dark hole.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Oh god..." I mumbled to myself as the carriage drew under the gate to Clubs. I shook my head in pure astonishment.

It was nothing like Hearts.

The buildings were tall and sticky, leaning sickly over to one side. Their bricks were covered in dark green moss and looked black from the smoke that poured from the factory stacks that layed just outside the castle grounds. My hands clenched in my lap as the carriage jerked to a stop, making the hearts that hung from the ceiling clink against either. Hesitantly, I parted the heavy red curtains, only to have to door flung open suddenly, finding myself looking up at a skinny bird like man.

"My name is Mortes Quimby. Are you...Alissss Liddle?" He asked, his voice low and grinding. I clenched my teeth and nodded silently. "It is NOT polite to merely nod when you are asked a question, young lady."

"I`m sorry, sir. I`m just very unhappy." I replied quickly, not wanting to endure anymore of his voice.

"I advise you know to upset the Queen." He said from behind me, totally taking me off guard by the change of topic. I stepped up onto the first rotting stair and turned back to look at him.

"I thought that was already expected." I replied, watching him walk up the black cobble stone path towards me, my suitcases huddled under his stick like arms. "I never upset my-" I was cut off as I stared at his straining arms, half worried they would snap under that much pressure.

"Yes." He inturrupted. "Your OLD Queen." He came up and wrinkled his shriveled up old nose at me. "You shall stop referring to her as your QUEEN this instant. She is no longer your Queen and shall never be again. You are property now to the King and Queen of Clubdom. So start acting like it!"

_Property_?!

I frowned at the harshness of his words, but he didn`t seem to care.

"Now, as I was saying." He continued. "It is your duty to take care of the powerful Prince Jakob-" His voice raised a little saying this, causing me to look around to see who he was shouting at, but we were completely alone. "As well as to not offend the Queen and be turned to stone."

"Surely she can not turn people to stone..." I said, a small, disbelieving laugh escaping with my words. He turned his beady eyes, black as night, down towards me.

"If she wants to do something well enough...she always can." He said in a low voice, sending a chill down my spine. "Offend her and she will turn your pale skin and blonde hair into hard gray stone in two shakes of a Fishes tail. And those eyes of yours...into black oynx. Forever doomed to stare down at this stoop for eternity." At his words I looked up.

My eyes widened.

Above the door hold there sat a large bird, It wings outstretched as if it were about to take off, its feet braced apart...its black lifeless eyes staring sadly down at me. "It just wont stop singing. No matter how many times she told it to."

"What..."

"Exactly." He said, and then knocked on the door a few times, the sound echoing inside.


End file.
